The Power of Inexperience / GreyJoy(A)-Rader(J)

[Miller]

60 Nicks lost on the ground has to hurt, I doubt he is producing those in big numbers.

[SoliInvictus202]

if you want further advice on sub-warfare against your opponent - check out the AARs against your opponent - the one with the fight in Russia... - rader's opponent made good use of his subs.. -

generally - try to keep your subs at least 6 hexes away from any enemy airfield large enough to support ASW duty....

come '43 you will see a boost in your hit rate... - well worth of keeping your subs at sea!

[ny59giants]

From your screenshots, I see that his DDs were 8 hexes due SW from Karachi. I would mine this hex and then due south towards Bombay.

4e bombers - Again, it comes down to the use of your precious PPs. The leaders will need to be changed (others will need to clarify what characteristics to look for and Tracker will help) and then assign ALL of them to the same Air HQ. For the Americans you should have 10th Air Force HQ (check this leader also) in India. They need to be set at the same altitude on missions. These are the few steps you can take to get better co-ordination of strikes.

[GreyJoy]

I've already ordered to mine that hex...candies should be placed the next turn.
 
For what concerns 4Es coordination...yes, i completeley forgot that aspect...so much to care about!...i'll try to do that asap! Thx NY59!
 
We'll slow down a bit this week end...girls, marriage parties and RL problems will keep us busy...
 
Thanks!
 
See u soon!

[Canoerebel]

Bump.
 
GreyJoy, you have bigger responsibilities than GF, marriage parties, RL matters, estate planning, lawn mowing, higher education, travel, sporting events, and the like.  This is WAR man!  Get back to it!
 
[:-]

[GreyJoy]

We're back on track guys [:)].... will update asap...

in the meanwhile i'll just let you know that the KB has sprung up in CENTPAC, raiding.... That the allies have suffered a bad air defeat at Karachi.... That Rader still has 96 units stuck in the desert....

...

[GreyJoy]

Ok , Oct 19,20 1942

I gambled and i lost. After the fierce fightings of yesterday i thought he wasn't going to base his bombers back at Jodpur, so i decided to risk and to order to my fighters to stay down and rest for 2 days...well, useless to say he came with 300 sweeps and then 300 bombers escorted by 150 fighters...result is 60 planes of mine torched on the ground and 30 of his destroyed by the Flak...

Luckly enough only 1 spit was destroyed...

His DDs, after the bad encounter with my torpedo bombers of yesterday, moved back to Bombay with one of them getting sunk by the SS Perch who placed 3 fishes in his stomache [:D]

In the Pacific the KB simply pops up unseen (but as you remember i had a bad feeling in the previous days) between Canton Island and Christmas sinking 5 AKLs that were moving supplies from Christmas to Baker and Canton Is....so i'd say these first 2 raiding days have been pretty unlucky for Rader...nothing of interest sunk nor spotted [;)].

The only ships of any interest that i currently have in that area are some xAP/xAKs at Canton Island unloading a base force...so really nothing important. At the same time at Canton i have 100 fighters and some 60 dive bombers...with lots of AA...he better not to come that close [;)].

I'll keep my CVs far away ...i'll committ them only if he breaks some of his teeth against Canton Is....let's see!

However now we are 100% sure that the whole KB is in the pacific... a usefull information!

[GreyJoy]

The KB raiding...

[Canoerebel]

As the British army surgeon keeps saying in Bridge on the River Kwai, "Madness...madness!"
 
Failure to impose an airtight blockade on Karachi is pure folly (sorry, rader, if you ever read this; but attacking while letting the Allies readily move in supplies and reinforcements over many months is NUTS!).
 
You have the RN carriers in theater, right?  So now you can shut down enemy combat ship movement in the Arabian Sea?  You can also at least toy with the idea of a counterinvasion using some of your Aden reinforcements.  You have to be alert to LBA, but he can't have alot covering his rear areas with so much pestering Karachi (or so I think).  You might use bad weather to good advantage here.
 
Mainly, though, you need to be doing some offensive thinking and planning now.  Rader doesn't realize it; you may not believe it, but the Battle of Karachi is already decided.
 

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

As the British army surgeon keeps saying in Bridge on the River Kwai, "Madness...madness!"

Failure to impose an airtight blockade on Karachi is pure folly (sorry, rader, if you ever read this; but attacking while letting the Allies readily move in supplies and reinforcements over many months is NUTS!).

You have the RN carriers in theater, right?  So now you can shut down enemy combat ship movement in the Arabian Sea?  You can also at least toy with the idea of a counterinvasion using some of your Aden reinforcements.  You have to be alert to LBA, but he can't have alot covering his rear areas with so much pestering Karachi (or so I think).  You might use bad weather to good advantage here.

Mainly, though, you need to be doing some offensive thinking and planning now.  Rader doesn't realize it; you may not believe it, but the Battle of Karachi is already decided.

Hi CR!

Had to send the CVs back to UK in order to start gaining PPs back again...[:(]...those two CVs were costing me 130 PP every day!

So i kept them just untill i had escorted the 2 Indian Divisions of reinforcements from Aden to Karachi and the first 140k supplies...then i sent them back

His Netties are in Diego, Scoodra and Bombay...really hard to think about a counterinvasion without any CV cover.

However i really like the idea of knowing where the KB is... 1943 is not that far away and Aden Channell will be open in 7 months...i'm thinking about a plan...

Karachi, i'm sure of that, won't fall untill the end of next summer, no matter what. 9000 AVs are simply too much. He'll need lot of time to reduce it.

If during the next months i manage to advance in the solomons (let's say untill Bouganville) and to take PM...so consolidate my perimeter... I think i'll be ready to send by the end of march 1943 a HUGE Convoy to Aden, with 200/300k supplies, 2/3 divisions, planes and stuff...along with my 6 CVs...counterinvading at Surat...with 3 Indian Divisions, 3 U.S. Divisions...tanks...oh lord...that would be magnificent! [:D]

Anyway i know need to focus on my defences. As long as i keep Karachi Air Force alive he won't be going anywhere.

I'll let his KB draining his fuel tanks sinking empty transports (i have numbers of them to spare). These raids won't change the fact that the allies are advancing in SOPAC and without some LCUs to defend the islands he won't be able to stop us just using the KB...

[GreyJoy]

Forgot to say that i listened to NY59Giants and reorganized my bombing air army in Karachi. Now all the american bombers are under the command of the 10thUSAFF and all leaders have been checked and, when needed, replaced.

Now the fighter force is reorganized around the 10th USAFF (for the americans) and the 221st RAF group for the Tommies.

[jeffk3510]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

As the British army surgeon keeps saying in Bridge on the River Kwai, "Madness...madness!"

Failure to impose an airtight blockade on Karachi is pure folly (sorry, rader, if you ever read this; but attacking while letting the Allies readily move in supplies and reinforcements over many months is NUTS!).

You have the RN carriers in theater, right?  So now you can shut down enemy combat ship movement in the Arabian Sea?  You can also at least toy with the idea of a counterinvasion using some of your Aden reinforcements.  You have to be alert to LBA, but he can't have alot covering his rear areas with so much pestering Karachi (or so I think).  You might use bad weather to good advantage here.

Mainly, though, you need to be doing some offensive thinking and planning now.  Rader doesn't realize it; you may not believe it, but the Battle of Karachi is already decided.

Agreed.

[wpurdom]

What are your victory point ratios?

[GreyJoy]

Something like 35000 to 13000...

[Canoerebel]

GreyJoy, your mindset is interesting as conveyed by your "Karachi won't fall until next summer if ever..." comment.  Son, there is NO WAY Karachi will fall.  The Allies will continue to grow stronger, to get better equipment and aircraft, and rader is going to have to start paying more attention to his perimeter.  The chances of Karachi falling will not increase with time, they will decrease...and they're already at least than 1/100th of 1%.
 
The Battle of Karachi ended before it began.  You need to recognize that so that you can quickly shift over to a new world-view - a new paradigm - in which you are alert to opportunities to attack rather than focusing on the defensive.
 
Another possibility to at least evaluate - move your remaining Aden troops down to Capetown and then over to Oz.  Combine those troops with some of your Australian troops to invade Timor or New Guinea (or, if my memory is flawed and rader has any part of Oz, then begin there).  You can begin prepping now and can have the American carriers in support by the time all the various elements are in place.
 
Not saying you should do that, but rather that it's the kind of things you should be mulling over since from this day forward you need not have a defensive mindset only in the western half of the map.
 
Another possibility to mull is flooding Karachi with all remaining Aden reinforcements to be in position to try some flanking moves in northwest Oz.  I'm not sure this is a good plan, because it puts all your eggs in one basket, but you ought to at least evaluate the possibilities.
 
Once rader decides to withdraw or is forced to withdraw, he's going to be vulnerable.  You'll be hot on his heels with a hugely strong army and airforce.  What begins as an orderly retirement for him will turn into a rout.  You'll even have paratroops available to dog his retreat paths.  In my game with Q-Ball, he got 10 divisions out of India in good shape, but the other seven were wrecked.  It's essentially impossible for a strong army to retire in the face of a strong army without things going very badly.

[jeffk3510]

GreyJoy - I second that as well.  Karachi will not fall, and no, I did not stay at a Holliday Inn last night...

[GreyJoy]

CR, thanks for your insight.
I do see a possibility of Karachi falling.
If Rader moves 20.000 AVs there and start to bomb the base with troops, BBs and 3/400 bombers every day, supplies will run dry very fast and my 9000 AVs will become 2400 worth AVs...and with these numbers he'll be able to finally kill me...but it will take him LOT of time...i bet at least 9 months of full siege...and it is in this window that i have to prepare my counterattack.

My positions in SOPAC will surely become handy once 1943 toys will be available. If i manage to get to Bouganville then i'll just have to wait, dig in, and slowly build up my air force in the area...from there i could threaten not only Truk...but the northern coast of NG even without bringing my CVs into account.

In India i think the best solution will be to try to counterland from Aden directly to India.
I do not have the APs to move all my Aden reinforcements to anywhere else in one time...and the communication from Aden to the rest of the world won't start untill may 43...so i really think the best thing to do is to start prepping my reinforcement convoy right now and to have it ready by 01.02.1943.

Remember also that at the moment the possible best option for Rader seems to be to get to Karachi and leave 4000 AVs there....and then redeploy the rest of his army, so abbadoning the idea of a siege but imposing a blockade that, de facto, denies the pacific war to the Brits.

Sumatra eh!?....i think that using the Aden "Wormhole" is the best shot i have...less exposure (sp?!) time than anyother place...with a couple of turns of bad weather i can easily be on the landing spot almost unseen...[8D]

[GreyJoy]

ORIGINAL: jeffk3510

GreyJoy - I second that as well.  Karachi will not fall, and no, I did not stay at a Holliday Inn last night...

For sure it won't fall easily...but, notheless, it will be blocked and turned into a giant POW camp...Consider that Rader has already done that in China...he didn't take Chungking...he simply put 5 divisions there and moved away with the rest of his armies

[Andy Mac]

Remeber in mid 43 the Med opens and you can send TF's, LCU and Air groups by seadirect from the US West Coast to Aden.........also Aden becomes a major supply source at that point

[Canoerebel]

(accidentally posted this in my own AAR first - it's GJ's fault, or so I claim)
 
You're still thinking defensive!  Snap out of it, man!
In late 1942 and early '43, the Indian units begin to transition over to higher quality squads and armaments.  They become much more powerful.  In addition, you get more and better fighters, and to a lesser extent bombers.  It's going to be a long time, if ever, before rader can impose control of the skies over Karachi from Hyderabad, so you'll get alot more supplies in the meantime.
If you need some carriers to handle CAP to get supply to Karachi, devote your sizeable CVE component over the coming months.  If necessary, you can almost certainly run the blockade from Capetown to Aden without too much risk from Socatra.  It might also give you a chance to evaluate Socotra's strength as you sneak by and thumb your nose at a frustrated enemy.
Once you gain carriers in the Arabian Sea, you'll feel better about your offensive capaibility.  But don't lollygag. What happens in the Pacific is still fairly unimportant compared to India.  It's good that you're making some progress in the Solomons, but that's a long way from vital territory for Japan.  There's no place he'd rather have you advancing than there.